Hasina tells party leaders to resolve feuds

Prime minster and also Awami League president Sheikh Hasina on Thursday instructed her party senior collogues to immediately resolve conflicts in the party grassroots ahead of the general election expected to be held in December.Presiding over a meeting of the party’s central working committee, she expressed her annoyance over reported internal feuds of ruling Awami League in different districts, several leaders told New Age after the meeting that began at 7:30pm and continued 10:30pm.‘The party general secretary, Obaidul Quader, has been asked to issue show cause notices soon to local leaders seeking explanations of their positions regarding the conflicts in their areas,’ AL presidium member Mohammad Abdur Razzaque said. Another presidium member Muhammad Faruk Khan said that the meeting mainly focused the election preparations of the party where the party president instructed the leaders to launch all-out campaigns for party symbol ‘boat’. Raymond Areng, central committee member of the party emerging from the meeting told New Age that the party president also instructed the oganising secretaries of the party to take immediate steps to resolve the internal party feuds in their respective areas.Chaired by Sheikh Hasina, the meeting at Ganabhaban, official residence of the prime minster, was attended by members of the presidium and central working committee.Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha adds: prime minister Sheikh Hasina at the meeting criticised Bangladesh Nationalist Party chairperson Khaleda Zia for her comment in the court and said that she wanted to avoid the trial as she had a ‘criminal and escapist mind’.‘Khaleda Zia didn’t appear before the court for a single time in the last six months, and standing on the court she said she would not any more appear before the court,’ she said.‘What type of comment is it? Can any citizen who obeys law and the constitution utter such an audacious comment?’ she asked.The premier said the date for hearing of the Zia Charitable Trust Case was fixed several times in the last six months. ‘But Khaleda Zia didn’t appear before the court for a single time in the last six months,’ she said.